Friday, 8 February 2013

Guest Author Interview - June McCullough

It seems I made a slight mix up with the next person being interviewed in my last post. Today we have June McCullough joining us for the guest author interview:

Please introduce yourself, who are you and what do you do?

I grew up in the three most western provinces of Canada, although my family never lived in one town or city long enough for me to consider any of them my hometown. In 1989 I moved back to central Alberta with my two children, set down roots and I’ve lived here ever since.

I am a baby boomer who spent many years working in the financial industry. Recently, I was able to quit working full time and only work three days a week. This gives me more time for writing, My children now have children and I spend as much time as I can with my grandchildren, so I’m at a great place in my life.

I believe that you make your dreams come true. Two of my dreams were traveling and becoming a published author. At the age of 43, I used my passport for the first time and one month before turning 58, my first book, On the Other Hand, was published.

What first inspired you to write?

People. Everyone has a story and I’ve always loved hearing people tell theirs. After a while, I became a people watcher and as I watch them I would imagine stories their stories. After a while I started putting these stories down on paper.

What was your first story about?

The first stories I wrote are long lost and many forgotten. My first published story is On the Other Hand. Being a baby boomer there are several people in my life who have lost a spouse to heart attack or stroke, two of the leading causes of death. The novel is fiction, but the main character, Nina, is a composite of those people.

A second character, Pat, attempts to balance her life as a single mother. This story touches a wide age group and the feedback that I am getting from my readers is that this is a very ‘real’ book, meaning that they can relate to it. They tell me that On the Other Hand had them both laughing and crying.

What do you enjoy most about writing?

I love watching the characters and the storyline develop right before my eyes. Sometimes the characters will say or do something that even I wasn’t expecting, but after I’ve written it, it makes perfect sense.

And the least?

I can’t think of anything about writing that I don’t like, but it can be difficult finding the time. I love communicating with my readers, but I really don’t enjoy marketing. Everything I’ve learned about social media has been through trial and error – and there have been a lot of errors.

If you could write anyone's biography, whose would it be and why?

That’s a hard one to answer. The people I admire are the people who are determined, who overcame, and, in the process, became mentors for so many others. I am pleased that there are many of them, but the one person who comes to mind is Oprah. She has not only overcome an obstacle, she overcame one after the other. She was determined and she rose to the top. She truly is someone I would call successful financially, and – as far as I can tell – mentally and emotionally. Hers is a name that everyone knows; she has fame and wealth, but most of all, she has done it without losing heart. She is forever driving herself and helping so many others.

What advice would you give new and aspiring authors?

If you love writing, keep at it. Don’t ever give up. If you don’t love writing, quit now and find what it is that you really love to do.

What are you working on at the moment?

The book I’m writing now is so different for me. It’s called Retribution and it’s all about payback. In chapter one there is a murder. In chapter two, we go back 42 years and see what happens during that time that leads to this murder. I’m very excited, and a little bit scared, about it.

Tell us about your latest work and how we can find out more.

Earlier this year Home to Stay was published. It’s a romance that takes place on a ranch just outside Calgary, Canada. It’s a great book to curl up with and I’ve even been asked if I would do a sequel.